Tag: ears

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, FATHERS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, The GOOD SHEPHERD, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 22 March –  “I shall arise and shall go to my Father” – Luke 15:18

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One Minute Reflection – 22 March – “The Month of Saint Joseph” – Saturday of the Second Week in Lent –Ferial Day – Genesis 27:6-40 – Luke 15:11-32 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“I shall arise and shall go to my Father” – Luke 15:18

REFLECTION – “As the prodigal son, I will return to my Father’s house and I will be welcomed back home. I shall do the same, as he did – will the Father not grant my prayer too? O forgiving Father, here I am at Thy door and I knock, open to me, let me enter, so that I may not ruin myself, go away and die! Thou made me Thy heir and I neglected my inheritance and squandered my goods – from now on, may I be as a mercenary and as a servant to Thee.

As of the tax collector, have mercy on me and I shall live by Thy grace! O Son of God, forgive my sins as Thou did with the adulteress. Save me from the waves, as Thou did with Peter. Have mercy on my lowness, as Thou did for the good criminal and remember me! O Lord, come search for me, like the lost sheep and Thou will find me; carry me on Thy shoulders, Lord, to the house of Thy Father.

As Thou didst, with the blind man, open my eyes that I may see Thy Light! As for the deaf, open my ears, that I may hear Thy Voice! As for the paralytic, heal my disability so that I may praise Thy Name. As for the leper, cleanse me of my sin with Thy hyssop (cf Ps 50:9). As the young girl, the daughter of Jairus, make me live, our Lord. As Peter’s mother-in-law, heal me, for I am sick. As the young boy, the widow’s son, raise me up, that I may stand up again. As Thou did with Lazarus, cry out to me with Thy Own Voice and undo my bandages. For I am dead because of sin, like as for a sickness, raise me up from my ruin that I may praise Thy Name!

I beg Thee, Lord of Heaven and earth, come save me and show me Thy Way, so that I may come towards Thee. Bring me back to Thee, Son of the Good Lord and fill me with Thy Mercy. I will come to Thee and then will I be filled with joy!” – St Jacob of Sarug (c451-521) Bishop, Theologian, Poet, Writer, Father (A poem).

PRAYER – Grant that our fasting may be beneficial to us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, so that by chastising our flesh, we may obtain strength for our souls. Through tJesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, HOLY WEEK, LENT 2023, QUOTES on BLASPHEMY, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on TRUST and complete CONFIDENCE in GOD, The HEART, The PASSION

Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 5 April – “Spy” Wednesday in Holy Week – O miserable Judas!

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Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 5 April – “Spy” Wednesday in Holy Week – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“O miserable Judas!
He saw the gravity of his crime and despaired.”
St Francis de Sales

“SPY” WEDNESDAY
Judas
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritas

“O MISERABLE JUDAS!
He saw the gravity of his crime and despaired.
Truly, he confessed his sin, for in returning to the chief priests the thirty pieces of silver ,for which he had sold his good Master, he acknowledged aloud that he had sold innocent blood. [Matt. 27:3-5.]
But these priests would give him no absolution.
Alas, did not this unhappy man know that Our Lord alone could give it to him, that He was the Saviour and held Redemption in His hands?
Had he not seen this Truth clearly in those whose sins Jesus had remitted? Certainly, he knew it but he did not wish, nor
dare, to ask pardon.

To make him despair, the devil showed him the enormity and hideousness of his crime and, perhaps, made him fear that if he asked his Master’s pardon, He might impose too great a penance. Perhaps for fear of such penance, he was unwilling to ask for forgiveness.
Thus, despairing, he hanged himself and his body burst wide
open, all his entrails spilling out [Acts 1:18] and he was buried in the deepest of Hells.” – (Sermons of St Francis de Sales for Lent).

“O God, fullness of goodness,
You do not forsake any,
except those who forsake You.
You never take away Your gifts,
except when we take away our hearts.
We rob the goodness of God,
if we claim the glory of our salvation for ourselves.
We dishonour His mercy,
if we say He has failed us.
… We blaspheme His goodness,
if we deny that He has helped and assisted us.
In short, O God, cry loud and clear into our ears:
“your destruction comes from you, O Israel.
In me alone is found your help” (Hos 13:9).

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritatis
Treatise on the Love of God, Ch 9

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, LENT 2023, LENTEN THOUGHTS, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, SEPTEMBER-The SEVEN SORROWS of MARY and The HOLY CROSS, The HOLY CROSS, The PASSION, The SIGN of the CROSS

Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 1 April – Saturday in Passion Week, Thy Holy Cross

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Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 1 April – Saturday in Passion Week

“Thy Holy Cross ”

SATURDAY IN PASSION WEEK
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritas

“IT WILL BE USEFUL always to carry the Crucifix about with us, to kiss it often with love, to look upon it with respect and tenderness, saying at times:
O Jesus, the Beloved of my heart,
permit me to press Thee to my breast
as a bundle of myrrh.
I promise that my mouth,
which is so happy as to kiss Thy Holy Cross,
shall abstain from deceits,
from murmurs, from every word
which might displease Thee;
that my eyes, which behold Thy tears
and Blood flowing for my sins,
shall look no more upon the vanities
of the world, or anything
which might expose me to offend Thee;
that my ears, which hear
with so much consolation
the seven words pronounced on the Cross,
shall take no more pleasure in empty praise,
in useless conversation,
in words that wound the neighbour;
that my mind, after having studied
with so much relish,
the Mystery of the Cross,
shall be closed against all vain or evil thoughts
and imaginations;
that my will, submissive to the laws of the Cross
and to the love of Jesus Crucified,
shall have only charity towards my brethren
that, in fine, nothing shall enter into ,
or depart from my heart,
without the permission of this Holy Cross,
the Sacred Sign of which,
I trace upon myself at rising
and at going to rest
and in all the sorrows of life.
Amen.” – (Consoling Thoughts of St Francis de Sales).

Posted in CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, LOVE of NEIGHBOUR, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on ALMS, QUOTES on CHARITY, QUOTES on CONVERSION, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on REPENTANCE, QUOTES on SIN, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 27 March – ‘… You heard the words of the Lord, saying, “Stretch forth your hand.” …’

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One Minute Reflection – 27 March – Monday of Passion Week and the Feast of St John Damascene (675-749) Confessor, Father and Doctor of the Church, Confessor, Priest, Monk, Theologian, Writer, Defender of Iconography, Polymath. – Wisdom 10:10-17, Luke 6:6-11 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“On another sabbath, he went into the synagogue and taught and there was a man there whose right hand was withered.” … Luke 6:6

REFLECTION – “Are you angry at me because I have healed the whole man on the Sabbath day?”   In this place He revivified,, with the salutary strength of good works, the hand which Adam stretched out to pluck the fruit of the forbidden tree.   The hand which had withered through a crime, was healed by good deeds.   Christ thereby rebuked the Jews who violated the precepts of the law with evil interpretations.   They thought that they should rest even from good works on the Sabbath, since the law prefigured in the present, the form of the future, in which indeed, the days of rest from evils, not from blessings, would come.

Then you heard the words of the Lord, saying, “Stretch forth your hand.”   That is the common and universal remedy.   You, who think that you have a healthy hand, beware lest it is withered by greed or by sacrilege.   Hold it out often.   Hold it out to the poor person who begs you.   Hold it out to help your neighbour, to give protection to a widow, to snatch from harm one whom you see subjected to unjust insult.   Hold it out to God for your sins.   The hand is stretched forth, then it is healed.   Jeroboam’s hand withered when he sacrificed to idols, then it stretched out when he entreated God.” …  St Ambrose (340-397)-  One of the 4 original Doctors of the Latin Church – Exposition on the Gospel of Luke, 5

PRAYER – Almighty, eternal God, Who to defend the honour paid to sacred images, filled blessed John with heavenly learning and wondrous strength of soul, grant that, by his intercession and example, we may imitate the virtues of those whose images we honour and may enjoy the help of their patronage. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in "Follow Me", CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, FATHERS of the Church, Holy Name PRAYERS, QUOTES on SIN, QUOTES on THE VOICE OF GOD, The GOOD SHEPHERD, The HOLY NAME, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 11 March – “I shall arise and shall go to my Father” – Luke 15:18

Posted on by AnaStpaul

One Minute Reflection – 11 March – Saturday of the Second Week in Lent – Genesis 27:6-40, Luke 15:11-32 – Scripture search here: https://www.drbo.org/

“I shall arise and shall go to my Father” – Luke 15:18

REFLECTION – “As the prodigal son, I will return to my Father’s house and I will be welcomed back home. I shall do the same, as he did – will the Father not grant my prayer too? O forgiving Father, here I am at Thy door and I knock, open to me, let me enter, so that I may not ruin myself, go away and die! Thou made me Thy heir and I neglected my inheritance and squandered my goods – from now on, may I be as a mercenary and as a servant to Thee.

As of the tax collector, have mercy on me and I shall live by Thy grace! O Son of God, forgive my sins as Thou did with the adulteress. Save me from the waves, as Thou did with Peter. Have mercy on my lowness, as Thou did for the good criminal and remember me! O Lord, come search for me, like the lost sheep and Thou will find me; carry me on Thy shoulders, Lord, to the house of Thy Father.

As Thou didst with the blind man, open my eyes that I may see Thy Light! As for the deaf, open my ears, that I may hear Thy Voice! As for the paralytic, heal my disability so that I may praise Thy Name. As for the leper, cleanse me of my sin with Thy hyssop (cf Ps 50,9). As the young girl, the daughter of Jairus, make me live, our Lord. As Peter’s mother-in-law, heal me, for I am sick. As the young boy, the widow’s son, raise me up, that I may stand up again. As Thou did with Lazarus, cry out to me with Thy Own Voice and undo my bandages. For I am dead because of sin, like as for a sickness, raise me up from my ruin that I may praise Thy Name!

I beg Thee, Lord of Heaven and earth, come save me and show me Thy Way, so that I may come towards Thee. Bring me back to Thee, Son of the Good Lord and fill me with Thy Mercy. I will come to Thee and then will I be filled with joy!” – St Jacob of Sarug (c451-521) Bishop, Theologian, Poet, Writer, Father (A poem).

PRAYER – Grant that our fasting may be beneficial to us, we beseech Thee, O Lord, so that by chastising our flesh, we may obtain strength for our souls. Through tJesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in "Follow Me", CATECHESIS, CHRIST, the WAY,TRUTH,LIFE, DOCTORS of the Church, GOD ALONE!, LENT 2023, QUOTES on FASTING, QUOTES on HUMILITY, QUOTES on MORTIFICATION, QUOTES on PRIDE, QUOTES on VANITY, St Francis de Sales

Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 24 February – THE THIRD CONDITION NECESSARY for fasting well,

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Our Lenten Journey with St Francis de Sales – 24 February – Friday after Ash Wednesday, Feast of St Matthias, Apostle

“ Lord, Thou hast proved me
and known me:
Thou hast known my sitting down
and my rising up.”
Psalm 138:1-2

“Take My yoke upon you
and learn from Me,
for I Am meek and humble of heart
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For My yoke is easy and My burden light.”
Matthew 11:29-30

ON FASTING 3
St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritas

“THE THIRD CONDITION NECESSARY for fasting well, is to look to God and to do everything to please Him, withdrawing within ourselves in imitation of a great Saint, St Gregory the Great, who, withdrew into a secret and out-of-the-way place, where he remained for some time without anyone knowing where he was, being content that the Lord and His Angels knew it.

This is what Cassian, that great Father of the spiritual life, teaches us so well in the book of his admirable Conferences. (Many Saints held it in such esteem that they never went to bed without reading a chapter from it to recollect their mind to God.)
He says: “What will it profit you to do what you are doing for the eyes of creatures? Nothing but vanity and complacency which are good for Hell alone. But if you keep your fast and do all your works to please God alone, you will labour for eternity, without delighting in yourself or caring whether you are seen by others or not, since what you do is not done for them, nor do you await your recompense from them. We must keep our fast with humility and truth and not with lying and hyocrisy – that is, we must fast for God and to please Him alone.” …

This is all I wish to tell you regarding fasting and what must be observed in order to fast well.
The first thing is that your fast should be entire and universal – that is that you should make all the members of your body and the powers of your soul fast – keeping your eyes lowered … mortifying the hearing and the tongue, so that you will no longer hear or speak of anything vain or useless; … the memory, in filling it with the remembrance of bitter and sorrowful things and avoiding joyous and gracious thoughts; keeping your will in check and your spirit at the foot of the Crucifix, with some holy and sorrowful thought.
If you do this, your fast will be universal, interior and exterior, for you will mortify both your body and your spirit.
The second condition is that you do not observe your fast or perform your works, for the eyes of others and the third, is that you do all your actions and consequently, your fasting, to please God alone, to Whom be honour and glory forever and ever. Amen.” – (Excerpt from the Sermon given for Ash Wednesday on 9 February 1622).

Posted in CHRIST the LIGHT, CHRIST the PHYSICIAN, CHRIST the WORD and WISDOM, FATHERS of the Church, ONE Minute REFLECTION, QUOTES on OBEDIENCE, The HEART, The WORD

One Minute Reflection – 5 August –  ‘ … Show me then, whether the eyes of your mind, can see and the ears of your heart, hear.’ …

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One Minute Reflection – 5 August – “The Month of the Immaculate Heart of Mary” – Santa Mariæ ad Nives, Dedication of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Snows – Sirach 24:14-16, Luke 11:27-28

“Blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.” – Luke 11:28

REFLECTION – “If you say, “Show me your God,” I will say to you, “Show me what kind of person you are and I will show you my God.” Show me then whether the eyes of your mind, can see and the ears of your heart, hear.

It is like this. Those who can see with the eyes of their bodies, are aware of what is happening in this life on earth. They get to know things that are different from each other. They distinguish light and darkness, black and white, ugliness and beauty, elegance and inelegance, proportion and lack of proportion, excess and defect. The same is true of the sounds we hear: high or low or pleasant. So it is with the ears of our heart and the eyes of our mind, in their capacity to hear or see God.

God is seen by those who have the capacity to see Him, provided that they keep the eyes of their mind open. All have eyes but some have eyes that are shrouded in darkness, unable to see the Light of the Sun. Because the blind cannot see it, it does not follow that the sun does not shine. The blind must trace the cause back to themselves and their eyes . In the same way, you have eyes in your mind that are shrouded in darkness because of your sins and evil deeds. …

But if you will, you can be healed. Hand yourself over to the Doctor, and He will open the eyes and ears of your mind and heart. Who is to be the Doctor? It is God, Who heals and gives life through His Word and Wisdom. … ” – St Theophilus of Antioch (Died c 185) Bishop of Antioch, Confessor, Apologist, Father (An excerpt from: A Book addressed to Autolycus).

PRAYER – Grant us, Thy servants, O Lord God, we beseech Thee, to enjoy lasting health of mind and body and by the intercession of glorious and Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, may be delivered from present sorrow and partake of the fullness of eternal happiness. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).

Posted in DIVINE Mercy, Goodness, Patience, DOCTORS of the Church, JANUARY month of THE MOST HOLY NAME of JESUS, QUOTES on BLASPHEMY, The HEART, The HOLY NAME

Quote/s of the Day – 13 April – Betrayal!

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Quote/s of the Day – 13 April – Spy Wednesday in Holy Week – Isaias 53:1-12, Luke 22:39-71; 23:1-53

“And Jesus said to him:
Judas, dost thou betray
the Son of man with a kiss?”

Luke 22:48

“O God, fullness of goodness,
You do not forsake any,
except those who forsake You.
You never take away Your gifts,
except when we take away our hearts.
We rob the goodness of God,
if we claim the glory of our salvation for ourselves.
We dishonour His mercy,
if we say He has failed us.
… We blaspheme His goodness,
if we deny that He has helped and assisted us.
In short, O God, cry loud and clear into our ears:
“your destruction comes from you, O Israel.
In me alone is found your help” (Hos 13:9).

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor Caritatis
Treatise on the Love of God, Ch 9

“Sacrilegious tongues blaspheme the God
who preserves their existence!
… you should be damned forever
and, instead of thanking Him for His goodness,
you, at the very time
that He bestows His favours upon you,
YOU blaspheme His Holy Name!”

St Alphonsus Maria de Ligouri (1696-1787)
Most Zealous Doctor

Posted in DOCTORS of the Church, FATHERS of the Church, QUOTES on ALMS, QUOTES on FASTING, QUOTES on FEAR, QUOTES on MERCY, QUOTES on PRAYER, QUOTES on the CROSS of CHRIST, QUOTES on VIRTUE, The HOLY CROSS, The SIGN of the CROSS

Quote/s of the Day – 2 March – Ash Wednesday

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Quote/s of the Day – 2 March – Ash Wednesday

“Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning.
Rend your hearts, not your garments
and return to the LORD, your God.
For gracious and merciful is he,
slow to anger,
rich in kindness
and relenting in punishment.”

Joel 2:12-13

“He need not fear anything,
nor be ashamed of anything,
who bears the Sign of the Cross
on his brow.”

“Fasting is the soul of prayer,
mercy is the lifeblood of fasting.
Let no-one try to separate them,
they cannot be separated.
If you have only one of them,
or not all together,
you have nothing!
So if you pray, fast;
if you fast, show mercy;
if you want your petition to be heard,
hear the petition of others.
If you do not close your ear to others,
you open God’s ear to yourself.”

St Peter Chrysologus (c 400-450)
Father & Doctor of the Church

“Fasting cleanses the soul,
raises the mind,
subjects one’s flesh to the spirit,
renders the heart contrite and humble,
scatters the clouds of concupiscence,
quenches the fire of lust
and kindles the true light of chastity.
Enter again into yourself!”

St Augustine (354-430)
Father & Doctor of the Church

“Fasting, when rightly practised,
lifts the mind to God
and mortifies the flesh.
It makes virtue easy to attain
and increases our merits.”

St Francis de Sales (1567-1622)
Doctor of the Church